Bank of England Cuts Key Rate
By One-Half Percentage Point

LONDON -- The Bank of England slashed its key lending rate by half a percentage point Thursday, in an unusually deep cut aimed at steering the British economy clear of recession.

The bank's monetary policy committee reduced its base lending rate to 4% from 4.5%, citing weaker world economic activity and lower consumer and business confidence. It was the central bank's seventh rate cut this year.